Digital photos - the first practical application of the PC

In 1997, Ken Olsen, president of Digital Equipment, became famous when he said: " There's no reason people want to own a home computer ." That's because PCs are not like washing machines or vacuum cleaners that are created to meet a specific need.

When IBM released the first personal computer in 1981, some people only used it to play games PacMan, try programming in Basic language or turn it into a typewriter .

Steve Sasson and the first digital camera.Photo: The Age .

A long time later, the word processor is not something too necessary. The game helps people entertain but is still just a "frivolous application". In 1994, the first digital camera for users was called Apple Quick Take - the result of a partnership between Kodak and "Apple" - which was born and signaled that this is the application that computers are waiting for. .

Graham Dean, of Melbourne PC User Group (Australia), said two years ago only two people in his room bought digital cameras. 6 months ago, no one did not own a camera and the most talked about topic was how to buy the camera, how to use the editing software and how to manage the photo collection.

Since Kodak's Steve Sasson developed the first digital camera in 1974, the device has now increased from 0.01 megapixel resolution to a dozen megapixels, and has had a significant impact on the storage technology. on mobile devices, high resolution screens and promotes the operating power of microprocessors.

Until now, many people still wonder if anyone in Kodak feels sorry for the research and money they spend on developing digital cameras that ultimately destroys the traditional business of but they help the computing world thrive.